Childhood
by Dark-AmethystUnicorn
Summary: Just some drabbles focused around Leon and co growing up and adjusting in Traverse Town. Second chapters just an interpretative piece I came up with
1. Chapter 1

Small drabbles centred on Cid, Leon, Aerith and Yuffie in traverse Town. Not sure when Hollow Bastion was taken over so I decided they were all still kids when it happened. If it's wrong, oh well, just pretend its AU if that's the case.

**Childhood**

It was tough.

Cid never expected to be a father, hell he didn't expect to find a woman willing to put up with his chain-smoking, drinking and foul mouth for longer than a week.

He'd never dreamed that he'd be smoking outside –if at all- after tucking kids into their beds and stopping himself from swearing; out loud at least. Actually, Cid was positive that had someone told him he'd be doing this exact thing he'd have ripped their balls off.

Yet here he was, a refugee in Traverse Town, changing diapers, playing tea parties and trying to keep young Squall from getting into _too_ much trouble –and trying to remember that the boy wanted to be _Leon_ not Squall. (Years later he'd marvel at the fact that the once accident prone little boy had grown up to be such an agile fighter)

Like he said; _tough_.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon clutched Aerith's hand tightly, gritting his teeth with a small whimper as Cid pulled the last of the glass shards out of his skin and pressed iodine onto his foot. The young girl cooed at him and squeezed his hand.

"C'mon kiddo, it stings like he…h-e-double hockey sticks, but it's gotta be done."

"Uncle Cid?" Aerith spoke up thoughtfully. "Where do babies come from?"

As the inquisitive gazes of two ten year olds turned on him he swallowed. "Ah, let's leave that for another day." '_A day say…twenty years into the future_.' He thought nervously. As the pair opened their mouths to plead for the answer –no doubt going to point out that _everyone_ knew but them- Cid was saved by Yuffie's loud wail as she woke up from her afternoon nap. "Jeez, okay, Aeri, you know how to finish this, I'll go check on Yuf, kay?"

Aerith nodded eagerly taking the large Band-Aid and sitting herself down in front of Leon, speaking in soft excited tones as she finished the job. When she'd finished, she scrambled back up onto the couch next to Leon who looked at her speculatively.

"He avoided the question."

Aerith bit her lip thoughtfully. "Maybe if we get him really happy-drunk…"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Time really did fly_. Cid thought as he stared down at a defiant fourteen year old Leon and a distraught Aerith. Leon was roughed up, his clothes torn and he had the makings of a fine black eye.

"Alright, what were ya doing fighting with those kids from the Fourth District, Squall?"

"That's _Leon_." He muttered, looking at the ground. "They touched Aerith."

"So?"

As Leon repeated himself, emphasising the '_touched'_, Aerith turned bright red, tears welling up in her eyes. "Uncle Ciiiid…"

_Oh hell no. _

Leon started glowering again as he clarified. "They touched her chest because they wanted to know if it was actually breast or baby fat."

Cid held out his hand as his vision slowly turned red. "Give me your gunblade Leon."

Leon had scrambled upstairs and back down, the gunblade in Cid's hands before Aerith could blink. Then she blinked and Cid was outside hollering for those boys, the gates to the Third District slamming shut. Leon actually beamed at her.

"That's our uncle Cid out there." He stated proudly before trotting upstairs to answer Yuffie's yells.

Oh dear…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yuffie was a troublemaker. And a heart-attack.

Cid stood in the Second District trying very hard to convince his heart to start beating again as Yuffie _danced_ on the _rooftops_.

"Easy, you'll have a heart attack." Aerith soothed, watching as Leon negotiated his way across the roof and grabbed at Yuffie only to have her skip out of his reach.

"Did I raise that girl to be suicidal?"

"Actually, you raised her to swear like a sailor…"

Cid smiled proudly. "That I did." His smile fell from his face when Yuffie stumbled, Leon's arms wrapping around her waist prevented her from falling. "God damnit Yuffie." He yelled. "You get off that roof _now_."

"Like I have a choice!" she screamed back as Leon tossed her over his shoulder and climbed back down the ladder.

"Idiot." Was all the boy had to offer when he handed the ninja-in-training over to their guardian before leaving with Aerith for their lessons with Merlin.

Cid looked down at the girl pouting at his feet. "You're trying to give me a heart attack aren't you kid?"

"Nooo, that's Leon I'm trying that on." She grinned at him before skipping off to the hotel.

Cid rolled his eyes as he followed. "That's it. Your ninja butt is **grounded**, missy."

"What?!"

"If you're not having lessons, you're working in the shop for the next week. Leon's got enough on his plate without a trip to the hospital. Punishment will be lifted if you can get him to crack a frakking smile already."

"Awww Uncy Cid! Can't I just clean the bathroom and be done with it?"

"Nope, You did that yesterday for breaking a window."

Yuffie cursed. Loudly and colourfully.

"There's my girl…"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being raised by Cid was interesting. Leon and Aerith both agreed on that during their whispered talks while waiting for sleep. Unlike Yuffie, they could remember their parents vividly; they had memories to go with the faces.

Their parents' method of raising them had been completely different, according to memory.

Their parents didn't swear and they didn't smoke. Nor did they watch odd television shows, some of which had people wrestling _naked_ (it was hard to tell who was shocked more, Aerith or Leon).

No, memory told them that their parents watched the news and sports alongside whatever cartoons they watched. Aerith was sure their parents would put Uncle Cid in timeout if they ever saw what he watched. Leon thought that their dads would probably like it but their mothers wouldn't be too happy; he said it was probably some guy thing, though he confessed he didn't want to grow up if he had to watch icky stuff like naked wrestling. Aerith told him he could grow up to be a woman then, like her. That started a small argument over whether it was possible for a boy to grow up to be a woman. (Years later they would chuckle sheepishly whenever Cid brought it up, recalling the screaming fit he walked in on and the question they both threw at him. Yuffie would always mutter that Leon pretty much _was_ a woman; surgery would just make it official in the biological sense.)

Aerith remembers her daddy singing her to sleep; Leon can remember his papa tickling him. Both of them can remember Yuffie's parents cooing over her and playing princess games.

Cid doesn't do that.

But then again, they reasoned with their young minds, Cid has had to do things their parents never did so maybe that's why. He's like their parents as he feeds them, tucks them in bed and tries to play with them but he finds their games too awkward. But their parents never had to protect them from the Heartless, their parents didn't have to teach them spells and fighting. They never had to build gummi-ships or watch as new people arrived with no where to stay and try to find them a place to live and food to eat.

Uncle Cid was cool that way. The both agreed on that too. Aerith wanted to grow up to be a healer so she could fix Uncle Cid's boo-boos when he came home from fighting the Heartless and helping others. Leon wanted to be a fighter so Uncle Cid could stay at home. They both liked that plan. If Uncle Cid stayed at home, they wouldn't have to worry that one day he'd disappear like nearly everyone else they knew.

Like Uncle Cid, they both want to help people.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cid and Aerith can remember Leon's first kiss; though to their amusement, Leon doesn't remember it at all. Leon had been around sixteen at the time. Aerith and Cid had been inside the shop gathering items for a group of travellers while Leon sat in the square keeping a watchful eye on Yuffie as she played near them.

One dark haired boy winked at Aerith as she stepped out with Cid. The man promptly shot a glare at the boy, ushering Aerith over to where a woman and a girl –the only females in the group- were standing before walking over to a man who appeared to be in charge, starting a hushed conversation as a map was pulled out. From the corner of his eye, Cid could see a blond boy chatting to Leon, following him as Leon weaved through the crowd after Yuffie, offering apologies where needed. Cid could see the slight exasperation on the brunet as the boy just wouldn't _go away_. Cid took a firm hold of Yuffie as she tried to pass him, waving Leon off. He looked relieved as he left Yuffie with Cid and started to weave through the crowd back to the steps.

Aerith hid a giggle as Leon retreated beside her, sitting down and frowning slightly when the blonde followed suit. She nudged Leon in the ribs before giving him a knowing look, silently urging him to be nice. She smiled as the other two travellers their age joined them –the girl and the dark haired boy- and started giggling when the trio realised that Leon couldn't speak their language.

The dark haired boy had grinned. (Aerith could remember that even years later; it made him look angelic and devious at the same time. Cid said he just looked devious.) The three started a conversation, darting looks at Leon who scowled at them; Aerith followed as best she could, she managed to catch a little about their interest in Leon but most of the words eluded her or were spoken too fast. Leon's scowl shifted to Aerith when she laughed, a sentence suddenly making the conversation clear to her. She smiled and shoved him playfully, knocking him into the blonde who grasped his shoulders to steady him. When Leon moved to pull away the blonde darted forward, pressing their lips together firmly before sitting back with a smug smirk.

Aerith had dearly wished she had a camera; Leon's expression had been _priceless_.

The other two were giggling as a yell came from one of the adults –it was time to go (Cid stood there shaking his head at Leon with a fond smile). They smiled apologetically, the girl spoke halting English, explaining as best as she could, that they had to go. They said their farewells and started to leave, the blonde's smirk widening as he saw Leon's face still frozen in surprise, blinking dumbly every few seconds.

Aerith had never laughed so hard than when young Yuffie had asked why Leon was so red and the boy had fainted in response.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yuffie remembers the winters at Traverse town best. Those long nights when blizzards howled and snow threatened to them and bury their little shop. Those nights were her favourite. Those were the nights were Cid would get the fire roaring and they would cluster around it with mugs of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows ready for roasting. Aerith would sing and dance and Leon would tell her about Hollow Bastion, helping her to know at least a little about the world she had been born into but couldn't remember. Those stormy winter nights were the nights were Cid would bring out the few photo albums he'd managed to save from their homeworld, letting her see what her parents looked like, reinforcing the fading images clinging to the edges of her memory. He would show her pictures of Leon and Aerith with their parents and just of the pair themselves, their first day of school where Leon had clung to Aerith shyly and the three cottages with trellis' of honeysuckle where they had lived next door to each other. The three cottages where the three of them had been born.

When she was still a child, Yuffie would put out her hand and touched the images. Because somehow, touching made it real and she wanted those smiling faces to be real.

As she got older and Sora's arrival in Travers Town grew closer, she stopped touching the images; instead she'd look at the people still with her, their images in the photos and tease them. Cid because he looked young, Leon because –ohmygod!- he was smiling and Aerith because she just looked too cute in a green dress with pigtails and ribbons.

Her favourite winter was when she was thirteen. She'd been training with her wooden weapon when it broke. Two days later the blizzard came, she spent the morning staring as best she could out the sleet ridden windows when Aerith and Leon demanded her attention.

She could remember the blindingly bright smile on Aerith's face and the small but no less brilliant smile on Leon's, but what really got her that day was what Leon had in his hands; the large star that later became her trademarked weapon, like Leon's gunblade was his.

"It's about time you had a real weapon. Just don't use it inside or Cid'll kill me."

That had been the most Leon had spoken in over two years in one go. Yuffie remembered that vividly.

She also remembers her silent promise to make Leon talk and smile more. She's still working on that.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Leon's sixteenth birthday, Cid had fashioned a special case for his gunblade as a present. He gave the boy a chore-free day and saw to it that all his favourite foods were prepared for each meal. It was quiet and simple. Leon loved it.

For Aerith's, Cid gave her a photo album of her and the other two growing up in Traverse Town. Like Leon her day was chore-free and for dinner the café was hired out and everyone Aerith knew was invited for the party. It was sentimental and memorable. Aerith loved it.

For Yuffie's, Cid had the moogles create defensive items and a set of throwing knives. Again, the day was chore-free and they spent it at a street festival, ending with a loud gathering of Yuffie's peers. It was flashy and noisy. Yuffie loved it.

For Cid's 40th birthday, the trio had a box of cigarettes and a bottle of rum included on his breakfast tray. Leon went through the…embarrassment of getting Cid's favourite videos. Yuffie scoured the city for unique gummi blocks and was highly successful in acquiring them in a _legal_ manner. Aerith cooked Cid's favourite meal and went through the box of photos stored in the lounge and she created a photo album of Cid's life in Traverse Town. She had the townspeople Cid had befriended write messages, some of which were simply a joke.

Cid didn't know how to describe but he loved it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cid can't remember how or when the transition from 'Uncle Cid' to just 'Cid' happened. It might've been around the time Yuffie hit puberty or it could've been Leon and Aerith realising that they were old enough to do a multitude of things legally. It could've been King Mickey's arrival and the responsibility of waiting for the keyblade master so that they could help whoever it was. It could've been that time Leon was forced to kill a rabid dog or the time when Aerith lost her first patient to a fatal wound. It might've even been the time Yuffie broke her leg while in their secret cave in the waterway while alone or the time when Leon nearly died himself. It was hard to tell when it happened, it just did.

Somewhere along the line his charges grew up.

'Uncle Cid' was suddenly too childish.

Yet somehow, when it came from their three voices, just plain 'Cid' was enough.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Chapter 2

When planning this, I originally intended this as a CLC drabble but when I'd finished it and read over it, it seemed much more vague. Nevertheless I'm posting it because I'd like some feedback on it. Not sure if anyone will get it though, I was in one heck of an odd mood when I wrote it.

**Open**.

The light was blinding.

A solid wall of white, almost iced over in its defence, keeping out anything and everything. Everyone had tried to get through; others just as light and some a contrary darkness but none of them succeeded. The light stayed put, stayed solid and icy.

He wasn't either; he was bit of both…_tainted_…so he reached out and pressed a hand against the light, marvelling that it didn't hurt like light normally did whenever he tried to look or touch it. The light seemed to withdraw, pulling away in quick subtle movement before hesitating…creeping back shyly to investigate. He closed his eyes as the light washed over him, soaking him like a warm shower as a hesitant hand reached out and curled around his own.

_Let me in…_

The wall cracked open.


End file.
